The title sequence of Ghost Stories (2017) begins with the production companies, Warp being the main one. The production companies are shown one after another with ambient sound which sounds like an eerie public toilet including dripping sounds adding horror and anxiety to the simple title sequence. After the production company's titles are displayed, heavy breathing crescendos -increasing tension. Once Warp's title is displayed, the main title of the film is displayed suddenly. 'Ghost Stories' appears in monochrome with a frightening sound effect which makes the audience jump. As a result, the audience begin to become frightened right from the get-go, wanting them to watch on as their adrenaline kicks in.
After the title of 'Ghost Stories' has disappeared, there is a display of number being scratched up upon the screen. This is another example of an enigma code. Uncomfortable, nail-scratching sound effects are joined together with monochrome integers creating a sense of mystery. What do these numbers mean? Why are they there? These random numbers etched onto the screen must have a meaning behind them and therefore the audience begin to question their purpose, wanting to watch on to find out.
The unnerving mystery of the numbers and stressful titles create a hard contrast with the following scene. Mellow blue and white tones are used in the close up of the window - showing that all enigma will be revealed towards the end of the film, after some explaining.
A voice-over begins during this shot, a toned, relaxed voice begins to tell a story, matching the tones of the room. This begins to relax the audience, after the initial frights. The male voice-over tells us that his father's religious beliefs were the reason for why his family broke up, anchoring the meaning behind the mystery which again adds more enigma.
Following on from the voice-over, there is a hard cut, almost awakening the audience again. Letter-boxing and sepia colours are used in order to create a vintage look, showing that the next clips are the explanation and presentation on why their family split up. Again, multiple random integers are used at the beginning of the letter-boxing, relating back to the beginning of the film opening. Dissonance between the family is shown when the father has an argument with the family. This is the first representation of problems within the film, showing that from now on, trouble is bound to arise.
There is a cross dissolve used on the son's face - who is now the supposed main character in the film as we discover it is him who is speaking. The cross dissolve represents a change in time, switching from the past to the present through the same character. Visual representations of age shows that this is the current day, for example facial, grey hair and wrinkles.
Overall, Ghost Stories includes multiple codes and conventions that inspire me to use in my own film opening. For example, a possible flashback could be used in my own film opening to back up the reason behind the story. Hard cuts and distressing sound effects are also used which instantly create a mysterious atmosphere - something that I personally wish to create.
Another excellent choice to analyse. As a film maker already yourself, you are aware of how film language communicates. You draw attention to how editing, colour and sound can be effectively marshalled to create enigma and suspense. Well done.
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